More Questions Than Answers
by StudentofDust
Summary: One phone call, one conversation. That was all it took for Nick to doubt everything about what surrounded Kira's death. And now that he has his doubts, the only thing left is to look for answers. Where those answers lead, though... Eventual Nick/Cassie.
1. Chapter 1

The funeral was the last thing that Nick wanted to think about. He sat on his bedside looking out his apartment window; the night was still young, and yet Nick couldn't find it in him to close his eyes and sleep.

He looked over at his alarm clock. 3:19 a.m.

Nick sighed and flopped backwards onto his bed. He glanced over at his cell phone, looking to see if Cassie had called him back. She hadn't.

Cassie was the first one that Nick had called when Kira died. She was the only one that he trusted, the only one that he thought could get him through it. And yet, she hadn't been back in touch with him at all. In fact, she hadn't been speaking to him for almost three years, so he had no idea whether she had the same number or not.

He was just about to drift off when his cell vibrated. Immediately, he snatched it up and looked at the caller ID. It said Cassie Holmes.

His spirits immediately lifted; she was finally calling him back He finally had someone to commisserate with.

He pressed the talk button and spoke: "Cassie, I'm glad you called me back-"

Cassie spoke from the other end: "You called me?"

"Yeah," Nick replied, "two days ago. I left you a voice mail and everything." Something wasn't right "You didn't get my message?"

"No, my phone didn't say anything about you having called at all,"Cassie said. "Hey by the way, did you hear that Kira died? Tragic..."

Nick had to fight back the tears. "Yes, I heard. How could I not, seeing as she was my fiancee and all..."

He heard a sharp gasp from the other end of the line, then, "Oh my god, Nick, I am so sorry! I had no idea! I'm so sorry..."

"Why are you apologizing?" Nick asked. "You couldn't have done anything-"

Cassie exploded. "Dammit, Nick, I'm a Watcher! You would think that I would see something like that before it happened! My mom was right, I'm a goddamned failure as a Watcher-"

"Whoa, wait," Nick interrupted, "your mom? You've talked to her?"

Cassie simmered for a moment, then responded: "Yeah, you wouldn't know that, would you? I went back to America and found my mom over here, but she was... less than happy to see me. She thought I'd failed as a Watcher."

"How could she think that?"

"My mom was never exactly mentally stable," Cassie said. "She always had her problems, which really made her a better Watcher. Her mental angst was what drove her powers to become as good as they did."

Nick was in shock; the entire two years that he and Cassie had dated before he shacked up with Kira, she had never even mentioned anything about this.

"Cassie, I-"

He heard a sob from the other end of the line. "I knew this was a bad idea, calling you..." She went on before Nick could answer. "I have to go, Nick. I have things I need to take care of."

"When-"

"When, what? When will you hear from me again? Maybe never. I'm still wanted, you know..."

Cassie was silent for a moment, then she said something that Nick would never thought she'd say. "You know, I still love you, Nick. And every night, I wonder, could we just pick up where we left off...? Could we ever be together again...?"

"I can't say I've never thought about that myself," Nick replied, "but you know why I left you. I'm even more wanted than you are, and I couldn't risk-"

"FUCK THE RISK!" Cassie yelled. "I stayed by you for so long, knowing the risk. Why would I care? What about me would think I would care about risk? I never wanted you to leave, Nick. I cried my eyes out for days after you left!"

Nick was speechless; their break-up had seemed amiable enough.

The line was silent for a moment, then Cassie spoke: "Nick, I want you to know this. Kira's death was not an accident. You should be more worried about finding out who killed her, than about winning me back. That will come whether you want it to or not."

Before Nick could reply, the line went dead, and a dial tone sounded in his ear.

Nick shut the phone, in shock about Cassie's last words. What made her think that Kira was murdered? And wouldn't that mean that she knew something? Then why did she say at first that she didn't know Kira had died?

The questions only led to more questions, never to answers. And Nick hated that part about life, more than anything else, really.

Nick stood up and looked at the clock. 4:00 a.m.

He had a full six hours before the funeral, he reasoned. He had no idea why he was doing what he was doing, but he just felt compelled to. He had to find out whether Kira really had been murdered, and how in the hell Cassie knew about it. He levitated his firearms over to him, and stuck them in the belt of his jeans.

When that was done, he stepped out into the crisp China air. A breeze blew on his face, and he smiled; it felt so good to him. But the night was not about pleasure; it was about duty.

And Nick had a job to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Nick set out down the road, heading to God knew where. He had no idea where to start, and it pained him to admit it. There was really nothing he could-

_Wait. The police precinct. I could start there. They might know something. Might not, too, but it's worth a shot, at least..._

He was surprised he'd thought of that, but he didn't stop to think of how it came to him. Rather, he picked up the pace, and began to almost jog to the police station.

The station was about two miles away from his apartment. He knew it well; one of his good friends worked at the station, at the front desk. The receptionist, though the Chinese didn't call it that. They called it something else, but Nick couldn't recall it offhand.

He turned onto a different street. About a mile and a half to go. He could smell the tell-tale odors of one of his favorite noodle joints, and his stomach growled loudly at him. It was only then that Nick began to wonder how long it had been since he'd eaten.

He counted back as far as he could think, and discovered that it had been almost three days since he'd eaten.

"Damn..." he said aloud. "It's been that long... I can't do this for very much longer."

He slowed down, and stopped in front of the noodle cart. The man behind the cart turned to say a harsh word to him, but smiled when he saw who it was.

"Nick!" the man said. "It's been too long. Why you no come by here?"

"I've been having to deal with a death," was all Nick said. "But I'm needing something big. I haven't eaten in a few days."

The man's eyes widened. "You no eat in days? I fix that." He turned and picked up a to-go box, and began piling noodles onto it. He added the vegetables and beef that he knew Nick liked, and he turned to give it to Nick.

"How much?" Nick asked, reaching for his wallet.

The man shook his head. "No charge this time. Think of it as welcome-back gift."

Nick laughed, and he was shocked to realize that it was almost a foreign sound to him. He hadn't laughed in so long...

"Thanks, Soon," he said, taking the box from him.

"By the way," Soon said, "who died?"

"My fiance Kira," Nick replied. "I don't think you knew her."

"She was with you before," Soon pointed out. "Here, a few times. And here, once or twice, by herself."

"Oh," Nick remembered. "Yeah. Well, I'm trying to find out what happened to her. I think her death wasn't an accident."

Soon thought for a moment, then looked up at Nick almost excitedly. "Did she have friend here? I see her with man many times, walking down road."

This piqued Nick's interest. "Do you remember what this man looked like?"

Soon smiled and turned, rummaging around in a side-pocket of his apron. He pulled out a photo booklet, and leafed through it. He found what he was looking for, and held out a photograph to Nick. "That him, the man."

Nick took the photograph and looked at it. The girl in the photo was indeed Kira, and she was walking down the road with a man who looked to be about Nick's age, though he was definitely Chinese.

"Do you know him?" Nick asked.

Soon shook his head. "No, I no know him. But I know someone who does. He run bar down the road a bit, Shiu-Ni."

"Shiu-Ni Tavern...? That's right next to the police station, right?"

Soon nodded. "Police over there all the time, get drunk and shoot into the sky. Scares hell out of me every time."

Nick thanked Soon for the meal and the information and walked away. He began to eat, slowly at first but then more ravenously. His hunger flared as the food hit his empty stomach, but then it began to ebb. Still, he ate as fast as he could, and his walking speed matched.

Eventually, the entire plate was finished, and Nick looked down at it in surprise. He had never eaten that much food in his life, regardless of how hungry he was.

Before he knew it, he made it to the police station. He saw the Shiu-Ni tavern right next to it, and was almost tempted to just barge right in and start accosting people. His common sense told him where that would lead, though, so he opted to enter the police station.

As always, it was open 24 hours, and his friend was sitting at the front desk. He looked extremely surprised to see Nick standing there.

"I have not seen you in weeks," Mio said, standing and shaking Nick's hand. "How have you been holding up?"

"Not well," Nick admitted. "I just ate for the first time in three days."

Mio looked concerned. "Kira's death getting to you?"

"Yes, which is why I'm here. I received a phone call from... somebody, and she told me that Kira's death wasn't an accident."

"Are you sure?" Mio asked. "There was nothing to indicate that her death was anything but an accident. I can let you look at the body, if you want, just to allay any fears."

"Thank you," Nick replied. He began to walk towards the back, when the door opened behind him.

"Hey, Nick!" a voice called out. Nick turned around, and his blood ran cold.

The men standing in the doorway were members of one of the Chinese gangs that Nick had dealings with in the past. Three of them stepped inside, and Nick could see two more standing outside.

What really scared Nick, was that all of them were armed.

The leader of the group pointed his Ruger at Nick, aiming straight at his chest.

"We could've let you be, Nick. But you just couldn't let bygones be bygones, could you?"

"You're not talking about-"

The leader aimed the Ruger at the ceiling and fired a shot, sending plaster raining down on both of them. Mio drew his weapon as well, aiming it at the group.

"You had your chance, Nick. But you couldn't let it be. Now, we'll make sure the only way you leave this place... is in a body bag."


	3. Chapter 3

Gunshots rang out through the precinct, and Nick instinctively covered his head and dropped to the floor. He chanced a glance at the doorway, and saw two of the gang members fall down dead. The others were raising their weapons, though, and about to open fire on them; two were trained on Mio, while the other was focused on Nick.

The latter was the one that Nick went after, first.

The gangbanger squeezed off a shot, but Nick threw up a shield of telekinetic energy, and the bullet ricocheted off harmlessly, landing on the floor behind him. Before he could fire off another shot, Nick gathered his energy at his fist and swung at his target with a psychically-charged punch.

The shot connected, and the man fell down, unconscious.

At that moment, the policeman fired off two more shots, and the other two gang members fell down dead.

Nick let the rest of his energy fade and tamper down, until he was just his normal self again. He looked over at Mio, to see if he was okay.

MIraculously, Mio had not been hit.

"What the hell was that about?" Nick asked incredulously.

"I don't know," Mio responded; he was visibly shaking, as he re-holstered his firearm. "They seemed to know you, though."

Nick nodded. "I had a beef with them years ago, but I thought I had it all squared up..."

Mio shook his head. "Gangs around here, they never forget. Even if they say a debt is forgiven, they still feel as though they can come collect at any time."

"I've heard that, but..."

"Didn't think they'd collect on you?"

Nick shook his head and stuck his hands in his pockets. His left hand brushed up against the photograph that Soon had given him, and he remembered the reason why he had come there in the first place.

"Mio!" he said as his friend was walking back to the back of the room. Mio turned around.

"Yeah?"

Nick pulled the photo out, and walked over to Mio. "Soon said that he saw this guy with Kira, a few weeks ago. You recognize him?"

Mio looked at the photograph. He studied it for a moment, then rubbed a faint patch of fuzz on his chin.

"Sorry, Nick," Mio said after a minute, "I can't say I know who this guy is. What I can tell you, though, is that he's dangerous business." He pointed to a barely-visible tattoo on his left wrist. "That signifies he's in a gang called Sun Kyoo Minh. They are not to be messed with."

"I've heard they have some psychics in the group."

"Bleeders, mostly. One or two Shifters, maybe a Watcher from time to time. The Bleeders are the worst they have, but they're trained to lethal efficiency. Even the Pop family Bleeders defer to them."

Nick shuddered as he thought about the scene in the marketplace. It was so long ago, he remembered...

He was surprised to feel a twinge of pain in his heart, as he thought about Cassie. He tried to shake it off. "I need to be thinking about finding Kira's killer, not fawning over someone who isn't even in my life anymore..."

To Mio, he said, "Do you know where I can find these guys?"

Mio pointed to his right. "The bar right over there, the Shiu-Ni Tavern. One of the Bleeders is the manager over there. You might want to talk to him."

Nick thanked him, and asked him if he was alright.

Mio nodded. "None of the bullets hit me, so I'll be alright. I think people might have heard the shots, though, so go out through the back. Wouldn't want you getting involved in all this."

Nick voiced his thanks, and walked to the back and out the back door.

The crisp odor of cigarette smoke hit him as soon as he walked out, and he coughed at the smell of it. He'd never liked cigarette smoke.

HIs cell phone vibrated, and he looked at it. It was Cassie. He thought for a moment, then opened the phone.

"Hey, Cassie."

Cassie breathed a sigh of relief on the other end. "So you're alright."

"Yeah. Almost got shot up by a bunch of gangbangers, but I'll survive."

"I saw it, and I tried calling you, but the service dropped, and-"

Nick cut her off. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm okay, that's all that matters. That, and you saw it before it happened. Just like I said earlier- you are _not_ a failure as a Watcher..."

"I disagree, but thank you... So, any leads on Kira yet?"

Nick remembered their last conversation. "One. I'm fixing to go talk to a Bleeder. He's in a gang, and one of his fellow members was seen with Kira a few days before she died."

Cassie let out a low whistle. "You're actually going to talk to a Triad Bleeder? You have more balls than I ever would, my friend."

Nick wanted to point out that as a female, it would be biologically impossible for her to have balls to begin with, but he let it drop.

"How are you holding up?" he asked.

"I'm making it," came the response. "I miss you."

Nick smiled. "I've been thinking about that hug I gave you right before we went to take down Carver and his gang."

Cassie laughed. "I remember it. But why have you been thinking about it?"

"I liked it. And not just because I was able to comfort you. I actually liked it."

"I did too," Cassie replied. "I think that's when I-"

The conversation cut out in mid-sentence. Nick looked at his phone, and saw that it had died.

"Dammit..." he murmured. Now, if he got into any trouble, he wouldn't be able to call for any help.

He steeled himself for a moment, before shutting the phone and putting it back into his pocket. He walked to the side of the police station, and out towards the road. He glanced over at the tavern, and grimaced as he thought of what he had to do.

He knew he had to do it, though, so he walked up the stairs, and into the tavern.

The door shut behind him, leaving the night as quiet as death. Though Nick could not know it, that was more than just a metaphor.

It would soon become reality.


End file.
